The Sunday herald., 1887-01-09
AMUSE NJ ENTS.

The ever.favorlte Boston Ideals at the National,
despite the lodestone OF feminine lovelness tina,
drew so many 10 the neighbotlng house, have
played throughout the week 10 excellent business
aud the unqualified approval OF all VINO heard
them. They have reduced the matter OF operate
rendition very nearly to one Of the exact sciences
with the accident OF some fortuitous and unfore-
seen Inspiration liable to happen TO them at any
| time. In other words, their work Is always good
and frequently great. You can rely upon its being
intelligent aud more often than not may md 1t
inspiraiiona Tuesday night, for instance, with
"Adlna," that dear old "Elxr OF Love" OF Don't
Zettl, was unmstakably one OF the rci-eior nights
| Every artist In tho cast was In perfect voice and
| spirits, and the melodous little opera went with
Immense dash aud uerpe from overture to finale.
Karl, to be sure, viii "blcatr little at Intervals
| Barnabee mayhap Is irne more cut and dried
| in his humOr, thanks to the "east wind,r II may
be, than the rotund bufio for whom Dr. DHcdmdyd
was presumably written, but sparkling little De
Lussan fairly carried everything by storm. What
! marvellous little singer she IL, by the way, the
whole range OF her voice aglow with the warmth
| and color which seem a part OF her personality.
"Poor Donzetti, what a pity that he died so
young" was the selfcompasslonate refrain OF the
madness that preluded the composers early
death. II would have made him a Me-
| thuseiah, but what pity, we say, that
he could not have stayed 10 hear Dc Lussan
| sing his music. on Thursday night again the
!
Relne," was charmlngy sung, Marie stones voice
In the rortiure OF the solo with flute obgato In the
nrst act was In such mlrvelously perfect accord
with the instrument, her execution so facle, and
her tones OF such absolute cearness and purity, that
| she received as she deserved a double encore.
Mile La0lache also appeared TO great advantage In
| thls delightful music of the composer OF "La
| Juve,' wherein she Is native and to the manner
| born. The innate dramatic fre OF line OF great
artists Is manifest In her singing, and her acting Is
| charmipgly natural and plQuant, with an added
grace OF funny accent and playful mockery that sug
gests Aimee at her best. In fact, Mile. Labache,
| like all OF the new accessons to the troupe has
established her footing In the affections Of the public
at once. Lawton, the new tenor, was very favoraby
received In the crucial role OF Lionel In "Martha'
| on Monday night, Notwithstanding some little ner.
vousness and the results OF recent throat trouble
and In the same opera at Wednesdays matinee, the
| new basso, Ivan Moriwski, won q decided success
as IfunkeN. II Is mpracticable 10 review In detail
the excellent entertainments OF the week, further
than to say that this admirable organization soloists
chorus, and orchestrais evidently the highest point
they haveyet attained for the artistic thoroughness
OF their work, and We cannot felicltate ourselves
too warmly upon the fact that they are TO remain
with us another week.
Mrs. Lapgtry's temperance In Washington on
| the boards of Albaugh's last week has been not
merely triumph and an ovation, but rTore and a
| craze. The theatre night after night has been
packed with the most intelligent and distinguished
people In the National Capital and the tributes to
the geniusof the artist have been and
| sincere us the admiration for the beauty OF the
woman. In all ages and in every CLINE this latter
worship has been the only one whose orthodoxy has
been admitted by the adherents Of all creeds alike
unless We except some ascec but unsuccessful at
temps In that direction by our own Puritan FORE
fathers. The alteration of feminine lovellness has
ever been the primal source, perhaps OF the art i'm
| pulse OF the world. But here Is the rare example
| OF woman lowered with this rich favor of the
| Gods, who, like Aspasa, Hypatia Roland, Reca-
mler and some hall dozen others since the world
gam mas not been content with the gift OF beauty,
but resolved, by stern endeavor and laboiiJus DAYS
to add the trait OF greatness well. How she
| had succeeded, let her audiences attest. The fret
three nights of the week Mrs. Iaugtry was seen in
"a wfes PERIL adapted from the French of .'Nos
| intimes, by Messrs. b. c. Stevenson and Clement
| Scott Whoever saw the play must have wondered
at lis selection by these clever gentlemen and Its
ceptance by Mrs. Langry. Except In one act Of the
four 1t aords her but little opportunity for the dis
play OF her ability, and then the opportunity comes
In such questionable shape that her undoubted
artistic triumph therein little short of mira
Gle. The characters and Incidents of the drama are
mostly the reverse OF agreeable, and, as we have
| suggested Its action only ceases to be dull when
| 1t becomes something more than ndelicate. The
| Tue OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES anu Mr. C0ghlan,
the role OF that most constituencies scamp. Brad
ford, receive at the end OF the very pronouncedy
realistic third act speaks better for the actors than
the audience In her evening dress of this scene,
indeed III the less sumptuous gowns of the others,
Mrs. Langtry was vision of lovelness. Mr. Coph-
| Ian Is emlnently at home In the 'strowser" DRAMA
and did the rascaly Captain in very satisfactory
| club-window "form." Mr. Everell, as the Omnis
cient ubiquitous, and Indispensable family doctor,
the good genius deus Bdchiita, and sweet little
cherub, who sat up aloft and adjusted all the risky
domestic situations, was excellent and his apparent
honesty and hard combined, were yery
grateful in an assembly Of people nearly all
o! whom seemed 10 be conspicuous for the absence
OF one or both. Wednesday night the scene very
agreeably changed from this English country house,
where all the guests seemed leagued against the
welfare and happiness OF their unsuspecting friend
and host, TO the arcadia of romance, the fairyland
OF Snwers oldfashionei idyl of love and suffering
and rewarded consiancy, the ever vernal "Lady OF
Lyons This was a better and worthier setting
for the gem'like radiance of the Langtrys lowell
ness, and the perfect charm and grace of her
Pauline will linger long and pleasantly In the
minds of her hearers. We glad, on the whole,
the week ended with this play rather than the other
Mr.. Coghlan was not quite himself without his gle
eye-gass and patent feathers, but some fthe others
made better of their bettered opportunities
Both plays were beautifully mounted, and had every
advantage OF tasteful scenery and exquisite dressing.
The annual visit OF Robson and Crane, VINO ap-
pear at Albaughs This week, Is always a pleasant
event TO the lovers OF legitimate comedy. These ex
cellent actors now devoling themselves to "The
Merry Wives of Windsor" which they produce In
splendid style. "The Merry Wives of Windsor
was written by Shakespeare when he was thirty six
years OF age and 1t was Drst produced during the
Christmas holidays OF the year 1901 In the presence
OF Queen Elizabeth and her Court at Windsor. The
two quartos OF the comedy published respectively 10
1909 and 1919 are regarded by the best scholars
largely SPURIOUS aud the FIRST auihenic version OF
the play is that which first appeared In the Heminge
and Condell folio OF 1923. During these years the
piece was also successfully performed al the Globe
Theatre. There Is familiar tradition, first promul-
gated by John Dennis and supposed to have heen
originated by Sir william Davenant, and by him
transmitted 10 Dryden, to the effect that Shakes.
peare wrote "The Merry Wives at the command Of
Queen Elizabeth who desired to see FdlStG6 in love.
1ne well-recognlzed inferioriy Of the FGlstdy OF
"The Merry Wives" to that OF "Henry "" as re.
tneoIy that this comedy was quickly and perchance
careessly put together Though many Shasespear-
authorities are disposed to accep, this theory
~ the origin OF the play, 1t is at best doubtful, aud ID
after all OF little practical importance. The plot ia
almost entirely the bard's own Invention though he
II said 10 have drawn for some of It's features on an
old piece by Tarlton, entitled "Newes Out of Pnrga
torle which IN turn was based on story called
piece resembles a German play by Duke Henry
ISans Bs oe o BrTSsswcE ,vss w1o died in lS
" NuIc ''lue merry wives uDtH not rank
with Shakespeare's best comedies, lis spOn.
a tanieiy OF Invention. exnberance OF humOr
and diversity of Characterization must ever com.
mand admiriDg attention. As Dr. johnson oh
= served, ITS general: power. that power by which
all works OF genius snail Hnally he tried Is such that
perhaps It never yet had reader spectator who did
not think It too soon at an end" II FdistoD with
his nimble wit and iovia companionship could fas.
cinaie mis- followers, including the heir apparent to
the English throne II il not strange that some OF the
most distinguished actors since Sbakespeare's time
have been drawn 10 "hs fascinating old sinner" as
ne has feicltolsiy been called. one OF the edtOrg
OF the folio OF 1923, John leminge, (l65C-l lG30)
WarwicsshiIe man, figures In the chronicles as The
! hrst Representative Of FdtsfdB. lie was succeeded
IN the part by John Lowin Lacy who died In 1851 ia
said 10 have made great fdisidH Betierlon
played It 10 1910 as dld also Estcouf shortly there.
alter, aud Barton Booth undertook the task hut
e once: James Qnin achieved renown In the role,
as dld also Harper, who was regarded the
: nnest lmpersonatlon OF the character IN Queen
Anne's time. 'nat accomplished actor, John lien
ders0n, Q1iI.lIs5J was very successful in the part,
! according 10 theeTtics OF his day. Planche SAYS
! that Dowdons PdiStdH was the best he ever saw
Edward Shutter took his farewell. Of the stage ia
tNfn g.Naa 1Ia